Mama Coulson
by Homicide Genius
Summary: A Family AU wherein Phil Coulson is the father of seven adopted children. Young!Avengers.
1. The Cellist Rests

**A Note to the Reader: **I think I've hit a bit of a roadblock with I'm One of You, so have a cute little chapter about an AU I've had in my head for a loooong time. I'm sure it's not the most original idea, but I find it adorable o wo

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It had taken him quite a while to get to that particular point in his declining emotional state. He was strong during the viewing, but as soon as they had started talking about her, his breathing became labored. He cast sideways glances at his kids to comfort him, but the sight was just as unbearable as what was going on in his mind. Loki and Thor were clinging together, sobbing grossly. Steve and Tony were weeping on and off, Clint was literally shaking in his emotional pain, and Natasha – who was in tears, herself, - held onto his hand to keep him calm. Bruce seemed to be the most composed of all, shockingly, but even _his_ eyes were red and puffy. He held a little dandelion in-between his fingers, and Coulson knew he was hurting just as bad as the rest. In his own hands Phil was holding onto a laurel of wildflowers to lay on his wife's coffin.

"...Sara Coulson was a woman of the most polite demeanor and a willingness to help anyone in need. She was a beautiful, calm lady of extraordinary strength. She adopted seven children and had begun raising them as her own, a task that now falls to her brave husband. She had always showered everyone with love and respect. The world will miss this woman and the gifts she had to offer, from her generous spirit, to her skilled hand at the cello."

At the mere mention of her name, Coulson lurched forward slightly and a wad of air caught in his throat. Once the man had spoken of the kids and the cello, once they had said everything they were going to say about the lost life of a beautiful, courageous woman, Phil Coulson finally began crying. Not weeping or sobbing, but actually crying. This lasted only until they announced the lowering of the coffin, when he had to man up and step forward. And so, with shaky hands, the widower laid the laurel down on the coffin and muttered words of thanks and of love before stepping back to watch his wife be lowered into the ground. He could hear his kids wailing in the background. He immediately spun on his heel and approached them with his arms outstretched, gathering them all into one big embrace. There was a hush over the crowd, but Phil decided to pretend that they weren't there.

"Now, guys, she loved you all a lot, okay? We'll find who did this, and things will be okay, I _promise._"

Tony looked up at his father with reddened eyes that were filled with wonder in spite of the heavy sadness that lidded them, "You mean...We get to stay with you?"

"Of _course _you do, Tony, I love you all so, so, much," Phil said, pulling them into him again for another squeeze and burying his head in the pool of children, "I don't know what I would do without any of you."

Someone planted a kiss on his forehead, probably Thor, with his strange customs. Phil only smiled and stood back up on his feet and stretched out hands to be held, "Let's go to the car, now, okay?" Everyone nodded and everyone was grasping at hands, "Let's just go home." Phil murmured, rubbing his thumb over whoever knuckles he happened to be holding. It was something Sara had always done for him whenever they had held hands. The thought of her again had Phil choking on air.

* * *

The car ride home had been quiet and peaceful instead of the awkwardly pained silence Phil had been expecting. Tony and Bruce had fallen asleep while resting their heads on each other, and everyone else was either holding hands with their brother or sister next to them or was looking out the window. Even Loki, the most talkative child there, was silent the whole way home, not even pointing out a raven – his favorite bird – that was perched on a tree outside the cemetery. By the time they were halfway home, Clint had stopped shaking but was still clinging onto Natasha's hand. They looked at each other once in a while and seemed thoroughly sorry for the other. Natasha was sorry for the boy's reaction and Clint was sorry that Natasha had only known their mother for three months before the shooting. Once the car rolled to a stop in front of the house, Steve began humming the little tune Sara had said fit them all. The heroic tune that made them all want to save something. Once Steve had started, Thor followed him, and Clint after him, until everyone was humming or singing it aloud. Even Phil, whose voice was still shaken, hummed along.

They all walked into the house together, most still holding hands, waiting for their father to unlock the door so they could all rest. Once the jingling keys had stopped and the door swung open, Phil stepped aside and allowed his kids to enter first. They all nodded at him in thanks as they stepped into the house. Steve and Natasha were still humming when everyone filed upstairs in a single-file line. Each child stemmed out of the line and turned to enter their own rooms. Thor and Loki first into theirs, then Bruce and Tony into their room, Clint and Steve, and finally Natasha into the single bedroom. Phil watched as they all shuffled into their rooms before he went into his own at the end of the hall, next to Loki and Thor's. He pulled off his jacket, feeling the heat from it, and kicked off his shoes. He looked sullenly around his room until he became so agitated with himself that he left it to say good-night to each child, who would certainly be in their pajamas in the five or six minutes he had given them.

Phil stopped at Thor and Loki's room first, the two youngest, but the two that had been in the family the longest. Thor was six and Loki was four and a half, now, already grown up so big from when they had gotten them. He knocked lightly on the door before stepping in, and found Thor and Loki sharing the bottom bunk. Loki was clearly _pretending_ to be asleep, perhaps avoiding the possibility that Phil might tell him to use his own bed, but Phil let him pretend. He kissed Thor and Loki on the foreheads, wished them good night, and left the room. As he closed the door silently behind him, he thought about how their mother had been the one to give kisses every night. Phil did love his kids, but he'd never spent as much time with them as she did. He did have work, after all. But it was nice, seeing them before he went to bed. And with that thought, he proceeded to Bruce and Tony's room.

The two trouble-making boys weren't in bed, though they seemed almost ready. Tony had a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, and Bruce was taking his glasses off. At ten and eight, respectively, the boys were surprisingly mature for their ages, when they weren't screwing around. That very though accompanying him, Phil smiled and stepped into their room, but it took the boys a moment to recover and to smile back. The man hunched over and wrapped his arms around both of the boys, who seemed a little surprised. He kissed the tops of both their heads and straightened back up. No one said anything, although it was clear that they all wanted to. The visit ended with a round of good-nights and Bruce and Tony climbed into their beds as their father stepped out of the room.

_Two down, two to go, _Phil thought, sauntering across the hallway to Clint and Steve's room, the oldest pair with the biggest room. Phil knocked again before stepping in. Steve was sitting on the edge of his bed in his boxers and an old shirt, and Clint was up in his loft-bed, looking down at both of them. Both of the boys clambered out of their beds and didn't hesitate to give their dad a hug. They clearly shared the heartbreak that they knew Phil was suffering from. After finishing the hug, Coulson stepped out of their room and over to Natasha's, the only girl at seven years old.

She'd come all the way from Russia, the hardest child to adopt, but the last. Sara had been hell-bent on getting her to the house, swearing that she knew that Natasha had needed them. And so Coulson had put every dollar in from his job into getting the girl to the house, a process that took two years and quite a few fat stacks of one hundred dollar bills. But it was all worth it, he knew, to have a girl there safe and sound. Natasha had later confided in Sara some of the things that she had saved her from in Russia, and everyone was glad to have the young girl out of such a mess. In fact, Tasha was probably everyone's favorite child. She was helpful and sweet, always polite and usually honest. Truly a charming girl to be around. Phil certainly thought so, and smiled down at her when she opened her door.

"Good evening." She offered with a smile, smoothing out her nightgown. She looked like a porcelain doll. Phil knew her English still needed some work, so he just gathered the girl up in his arms and hugged her close. She certainly was a lucky one. She had only known Sara for three months, but Phil supposed that was enough for them to get close. Sara had known almost everything about Natasha. After telling his daughter good night, Phil sauntered back down the hall for the last time and collapsed heartily on his bed. From under his pillow, he withdrew a small, folded piece of paper. There was a lipstick kiss on it and a small note that said, '_Went to the bank, be home soon, love you all.' _It was the last piece of communication intended for the family, Phil knew, and he was happy to have it hugging to his chest. Not only that, but he was surrounded by things that reminded him of the little things about her. The pillow that smelled of her perfume, the closet of hers that was full of beautiful clothes, and even the wall covered in photos and doodles the kids had given the two of them.

Needless to say, surrounded by all of that, Phil did not sleep well that night.

* * *

The alarms in the morning only woke a few inhabitants of the Coulson residence. Everyone else had been wide awake, their eyes unwilling to close even in the most comfortable of positions. Phil Coulson was one of the lucky ones that actually got a few hours' decent sleep, although getting up was a challenge for him. He literally rolled off his bed and stood up from the floor, still in his funeral attire. He changed into some work clothes, even though he wasn't going to the 'office' that day. Or that week. His boss had been just sympathetic enough for him to have a month and a half off or until he found someone to watch his kids while he worked. Whichever came first.

Once Phil had opened his door, he spotted Natasha in front of the stairs. They both stared at each other for a moment, as if surprised. Phil walked over to her and said good morning, but Natasha only smiled back. It stayed silent for a moment, and when Phil looked back down at his daughter, he was a little unnerved to find her staring at him with great focus.

"You didn't fall asleep until late," She began in a small voice, "but I got plenty of sleep. I'll take care of food, papa."

Phil paused for a moment as the biggest smile he'd ever managed spread on his face. She had never addressed him as a parent before. Not only that, but her heavy Russian accent and her unwillingness to say certain English words was comedic, if anything. But he didn't mention either of those things.

"Thank you, Tasha." Phil murmured, using the name Sara always had, and kissed the top of her head.

"It is not a problem. Go and wake up the others, papa."

Although it felt strange to be taking orders from his seven-year-old daughter, he did so anyway. Loki and Thor hadn't even fallen asleep, but were sitting up and talking the whole time. They immediately left the room after Phil and filed down the stairs to greet the sound of already-sizzling bacon. They seemed better, Phil thought, but he could only hope they could recover from such a loss. Bruce and Tony didn't even stir when their father entered, so he just left their lights on the the door open. The smells of breakfast would eventually waft upwards. Clint and Steve woke immediately from an obviously light sleep and got up sluggishly to wash up. With all that done, Phil stumbled back down the steps and was greeted with a sweet sight: Natasha was wearing an apron over her white sundress and was dishing out flower-shaped eggs and bacon slices to Loki, who was holding the plate over his head and bouncing up and down. It was almost as if nothing had ever happened. Only Thor seemed pensive in the morning after being awake all night. Phil made a mental note to be sure that he got a long nap later on. Ten minutes later, the other four kids joined the four downstairs and they all ate their breakfast, or the remainders of it, together. They talked through delicious mouthfuls and laughed at Phil's corny jokes about eggs, and laughed even harder when neither Thor nor Loki understood the puns.

"Okay, guys, no school today." Coulson said tiredly, his shoulders hanging forward. He caught Clint, Steve, and Bruce exchanging worried glances.

"But, dad, we wanted to go to school today," Bruce offered immediately in his enthusiastic tone, "We can take the bus!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we're sure, pops." Steve said with a bright smile and crossed the kitchen to pack three lunches with Natasha's help.

Coulson pursed his lips and half-smiled with a bit of pride, "Well, okay, but call me if you need anything."

"We _know _dad!" Bruce said and rolled his eyes, sticking his tongue out. Phil only smiled back at him until the curly-haired boy started patting his dad's nose. "You sure do worry a lot."

"That's because you're all worth worrying about." Coulson replied happily, getting up to scrub at the plates. He caught a glimpse of Natasha rolling her eyes and smiling.

"Well, I didn't realize we were having _corny speeches_ for breakfast," Tony butted in, "I'll be in the garage. If Jarvis comes over, tell him where I'm at!"

* * *

Hours passed after Tony and Jarvis had met up and gotten tired of talking and working together on circuit boards, so everyone was simply laying about the house. Phil was reading a book, but everyone else seemed quite discontent. It finally took Loki clinging to his leg and whining for him to break down.

"Well, what do you want to do, then?"

"It's going to rain, so we can't go outside!" Loki huffed.

"Then...Then we should build forts!" Thor interjected happily, clapping his hands together once.

Phil thought about it for a moment a shrugged. "Why not?" He rolled his sleeves up and began pushing the tall dining room chairs into the family room, where Loki had gathered blankets, pillows, and sheets. They all arranged the chairs and draped sheets over to create 'walls' and 'ceilings' for the forts. The blankets were thrown over that for 'protection from the rain', as Loki assured. Natasha later joined them, bringing Tony with her, and the two kids built onto the large fort the other three had started. Soon, they had a massive fortress that took up nearly half the carpeted area of their living room. Tony had taken it upon himself to light up the place with a few lava lamps, "They're extremely cool!", and a couple paper lanterns with tea lights in them. Then everyone laid down on their stomachs, and Phil started talking about how he had gotten his job, because Loki had asked.

"Then how did you meet mom?"

Everyone went silent for a moment.

"We met while I was supposed to be working, actually," Coulson began, half-smiling, "She was two seats away from the target. I needed to hear what was being said, so I took a seat with her to hear better. We started talking and...Well, let's just say that I didn't report back with any worthwhile information other than some digits."

"Digits?" Loki asked curiously.

"Her phone number, dingus," Tony snapped from across the room and rolled his eyes, "You called her, right?"

"Of course I did. I almost lost my job for her – she'd better have been worth it. And...She was."

Phil remembered the whole night they spent at a small restaurant near the beach, how they walked in the sand for a while, how Sara had almost gotten hit by a car, even the small details, like the way her eyes were crystalline in the moonlight. All the kids watched Phil in his daze. Someone was about to ask another question when Steve, Bruce, and Clint came running in from the front door.

"Hey, dad, we're home! School was great!" Steve said happily before surveying the living room. "Can we join in?"

"Of course. You'll have to build your own forts, though."

And so Bruce made a small barricade with couch cushions, Steve used the leftover chairs and blankets, and Clint simply made a nest out of all the pillows. Natasha jumped up and strolled into the kitchen. Everyone stared at the doorway for a moment until they heard the clattering of pots and pans and the starting noise of the burners. Phil fully trusted his daughter to cook, and was even more at ease when Clint jumped out of his little nest to join her. The remainders of the kids told stories of dragons and knights, going around the room in a circle and adding onto the story. Loki was just talking about moose-like dragons attacking the prince when Tasha and Clint arrived carrying platters of grilled cheese sandwiches. The rest of the evening was spent that way, making up fictitious stories and telling real ones, and even a few more memories of Sara. The pain of her loss had begun the long healing process, and somehow Phil knew that the family would survive without her, as much as they would miss her.


	2. Home Invasion

**A Note to the Reader:** I'm back, everybody! I think you can expect chapter updates on the weekends, from now on. I'm having troubles with Wi Fi.

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Tony felt the dirt on his arms, felt the bugs crawling all around him. He listened to the calm womanly voice speaking to him, but he didn't hear any of her words. The coffin crawlers around him seemed to blur his ability to hear, as if they were scuttling up to his ears and in his head. The very thought made him shudder, which in turn made him realize that he was almost completely unable to move. And every time he did so much as shift his weight, a layer of dirt would collapse on his chest, making it harder for him to breathe. He was completely buried. The thought sent waves of panic that collapsed into his better judgment, but luckily his first instinct was to freeze completely. But then he just had to open his mouth for a scream. Dirt clods full of worms began to collapse into his mouth, which he only closed just in time to avoid the worst of it. He felt tears pooling in his burning eyes as he began clawing his arms around, eager to escape his gravel tomb. But it was almost as though ever movement made the space more compact. Every twitch of his muscles made less room for him and more space for the muck to crush him further. Almost as if every breath took another away from him. The more he thought about his situation, the more he panicked and tried clawing. After little success, he began thrashing with all his body.

Then he opened his reddened eyes and the whispers of the woman began fading away. He could no longer feel the dirt in his hair, caking against his cheeks, or beneath his fingernails. He was laying entangled in a lump of sheets and blankets in a hot sweat. His breathing was heavy as he sat up with difficulty. After disentangling himself, Tony threw his legs over the side of the bottom bunk bed and let out a tiny, shuddering sigh. It was only a dream. Or nightmare, more like. He'd been having them ever since his mother died. The only consolation was that he never screamed in his sleep, that he knew of. Bruce sometimes complained of him making rasping noises, and his throat was always dry when he woke up, so Tony had always assumed that he made very dry and quiet scream-like noises. That might be why he could never talk easily in the mornings. Pushing all this from his mind, Tony stumbled out of bed and looked over at the top bunk to see if he'd woken Bruce. Luckily for him, his little brother was fast asleep with a thick line of drool cascading down his cheek like a peaceful waterfall. Tony snorted and began to dress himself for the day ahead. It was already six, but on a Saturday morning. As he wiped the last of the night-sweat from his brow, Tony knew that none of the day would really belong to him.

The previous evening, Tony had been caught in the elementary stages of a prank. He had intended to freeze some of his own urine in a frizbee and slide in into his science teacher's home, but Phil had caught him and had him grounded. But Tony had resolved that if he did a few chores around the house without being asked, he might be able to go out later that evening and see Pepper, the cute girl down the street. Whether the plan worked or not, he needed to get some of those things done anyway, and he could always sneak out. Pepper would think that that was cool. Probably. Tony smirked at the thought as he buttoned his jeans and stood in front of the door. He threw one last glance over his shoulder at his little brother before pulling his door open and tumbling silently down the steps. He didn't reach the foot of the final stair before he realized with a sense of dread that something was wrong. He peered over at the kitchen, and in it he could see two shadows moving. He didn't get a chance to survey much more before one of the shadows began moving closer and Tony had to run down the last stair and behind the living room couch. He watched from his hiding place as a man of a large build stepped out of the kitchen. Feeling light headed, Tony put his hand down on the ground to steady himself. He was met with the familiar feeling of dirt on his fingers and he immediately shuddered and took in a huge breath. He didn't realize before it was too late that he'd just blown his cover. The large man was already hovering over him, and Tony was too petrified to scream before he was lifted off his feet with a sturdy hand over his mouth. He began kicking and wailing as loudly as he could, but he already knew it wouldn't be loud enough.

"Hey, Mick, look what I found," The man quietly called to his friend, who looked similar to the first man in the dimmed light of the kitchen. "A little runt. What do we do with him?"

The second man had spun around as he was rustling through the knife drawer, and was even holding one of Phil's favorite steak knives. Tony happened to know that it was the sharpest in the house, and he immediately stopped kicked and his eyes widened. The second man had to cover up a laugh at the pitiful sight of Tony, but he set down the knife. He then took a step towards the pair and told the man to put Tony down. He wasn't on the ground for two seconds before there was a hand on his head, the fingers curling around his head. Tony was about to scream, but the first man put a finger to his lips and resumed looting their home. The second man leveled himself with Tony's eyes and simply stared into them.

"Listen here, Squirt," He hissed quietly at Tony, who didn't look away, "You're going to walk yourself over to that closet, there, and sit there like a good little kid while we finish up here."

"Get out of my house." Was all Tony could reply, trying to keep the fear and desperation out of his voice. He felt a viscous tug at his hair and he felt a hiss escape his lips as he was dragged to the kitchen closet and was thrown in. There was no lock, the burglar discovered, so he merely pushed the nearby dishwasher in front of the door. Tony began beating his fists against the door, but he didn't dare scream.

But from upstairs, the boy with the curly black hair and the drool on his face was beginning to stir. He had heard the door close, but it was his thirst that drove him to sit up and climb down from the top bunk. Bruce only smiled when he noticed Tony's bed was empty. Of course it was. His brother was probably downstairs already, finishing the prank he'd started last night. So Bruce simply slipped out the door, still in his pajamas, and began the descent down the stairs. He stopped mid-flight when he saw two unfamiliar men in the kitchen. One of them was holding a knife, but luckily, they hadn't spotted Bruce, who had begun walking backwards shakily back up the steps. He then broke into a run for Phil's door, which he flung open. He stared at his father, who was asleep in his own bed. It was still strange to Bruce, a week later, that his mother was not in that bed. But Phil, _Phil, _he should be up fighting the bad guys! He should be looking for Tony! With the thought of his big brother, Bruce flung himself onto his dad's bed and began shaking him.

"Dad! Dad! There are guys downstairs!" Bruce repeated this over and over until the man was awake. He immediately sat up and stared at Bruce, wide eyed.

"What?" He paused a moment, letting the words sink in. The seriousness Bruce carried and the trustworthiness about his son had him kicking himself out from under his covers and pulling a small revolver from his dressers. "Stay here, Bruce."

The still half-asleep Phil Coulson stumbled down the stairs and was then sighted by the two men. "Put you hands where I can see them!" He shouted at them. The men, immediately assuming they'd raided the home of a police officer, turned white-faced and dropped their bags. Phil then walked into the kitchen and pulled the phone off the wall and dialed the police.

"Hello, police?" He paused a moment, his steady hand still holding onto the gun even though his lungs felt useless, "Yes. This is Phil Coulson. I have a break-in here. I need someone down here right away. As far as I know. Yes, thank you."

He hung up the phone and glanced over his shoulder at the dishwasher, which the heel of his foot had kicked up against. He swore under his breath and pushed it out of the way angrily, not even realizing it had been blocking the door. Tony immediately swung the door open and clung to his father.

"Tony?! What happened to you?" Phil gasped, kneeling down to tend to his son, "Are you all right?"

Tony only nodded and said, "It was _them_."

It was quiet for two beats and Phil simply stared at the two intruders. He clicked his tongue and rose to his feet. "So. You think you can walk into my house like you own it, take what you like, and abuse my son?"

There was no answer.

"Not today." Phil muttered through his teeth and threw his fist at one, then another of the intruders. One stumbled back a step and the other hissed and threw his hands up, but Phil was the one with the gun, and he wouldn't let the other two forget it. Before much else could happen, police sirens where wailing in the distance.

"Tony, go up to my room. Bruce is in there."

The young boy didn't wait a second before running up the steps and up to Phil's door, which had been left open. Meanwhile, all the other children began stirring one by one and filing out of their rooms to inspect the commotion. Each of them were met with the sight of Tony and Bruce hugging each other and sobbing but smiling. Steve was the first to rush into the room and after him came Thor and Clint, who were eager to learn of what had just happened. The three of them passed it on to the last two, Loki and Natasha, who were shocked and devastated to hear what had happened to Tony. Everyone took turns giving him and Bruce a hug. Even Loki, who didn't quite grasp the gravity of the events, clung onto Bruce and buried his face in Tony's chest.

But downstairs Phil was taking care of the business-end of the night, escorting the men to the police and explaining what he knee had happened. After he fetched Tony and Bruce for questioning, everyone was sent back to their rooms, even though they all got out their walkie-talkies to discuss the event.

"I can't believe that just happened," Natasha started, "I mean, why our house?"

Steve was the one to reply, "I think it's because people know dad brings in good money."

"That might be true, but they had to also know that there were many kids in the house, didn't they?" Thor added.

"Yeah, well," Clint began, "Maybe they were new in town or something."

All in all, the night ended with everyone getting out of bed an hour later after the police finished talking to the boys and they all stayed home to enjoy the day together. Tony was let off of his chores and he and Bruce spent the whole day together. They even got to slide a frozen disc of urine into Mr. McGregor's house before the sun went back down, and although he knew it had happened, Coulson was laughing with them.

* * *

**Review Responses**

_Bacon ninja1209: _Awww! Thank you for the sweet review! Psh, I'll always be awesome B]

_Magic Iris: _I'm glad you liked it. I don't think all the chapters will be serious, at all.

_BradenisMyMonkey: _Aaah, thank you so much for pointing out an error! I hope you enjoy the rest~

_Guest: _I'm so glad you liked the story owo! It's nice knowing I have a dedicated reader, really makes me smile, you know? And since you asked nicely, have a chapter.


	3. Poor Little Boy

**An Announcement for the Readers and Reviewers! Feel free to request characters for chapters and I'll see what I can do! **I probably won't do shipping, unless it's like Pepper Potts or Peggy or some other character outside the family. I might _hint _at your ship in a platonic way (example: Clint and Natasha holding hands at the funeral), but I won't be doing much, if any, romance here. Sorry and thanks for reading!

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It was long before sunrise when Loki was opening his eyes. The sky was still a void black with no visible clouds, only a handful of blinking stars and a few soaring planes. He'd gone to bed the evening before very early, earlier than required of him, immediately after he'd eaten. The child didn't get much sleep, he never did when he was stressed or unhappy, but Thor had been there to comfort him enough for at least a few hour's rest. But when the dawn was on the horizon, any further attempt became futile from his older brother, so Loki took the matter to heart and decided to relieve the stress himself.

Sitting up in his bed, his eyes restless and his body aching to move, he threw his feet over the ladder to the top bunk and began sliding downward silently. The child was careful to watch his brother, to make sure Thor didn't wake, but he also didn't want his brother waking and knowing that the stress hadn't gone away. This problem, as Loki saw it, was his own. And he intended to take care of it in that way, even in a way as simple as taking a step outside.

As his bare feet touched the frigid hardwood floor he soundlessly let go of the ladder and began putting clothes on over his shorts. He picked up one of Thor's shirts, a large white thing with thunderbolts on it, and pulled it over his head. It fit him like a dress, but he didn't mind – he wasn't doing any of it for appearances. Loki headed for the door, easily pulling the knob without making a sound, and looked one last time over his shoulder at Thor before slipping out. He easily slid down the hall, but he couldn't help but marvel at the surreality of being in the halls after midnight. It was strange enough to be unaccompanied, but the way the moonlight flooded the windows and pooled on the floors made him feel at a strange ease.

It wasn't until he was in the kitchen that the awe wore away, but he had other thoughts to occupy himself with, anyway. Grabbing a green apple as he walked through the kitchen to the sliding doors, he put the small round fruit between his teeth to free both his hands. Working on unlocking the sliding door was difficult in the dark, but he easily managed once he re-adjusted himself to allow the moonlight to shine over the small lock. After he managed opening the door, there came the task of silently sliding it open just wide enough to get his small body through it.

Almost all Loki's stresses melted away, it seemed, as soon as his toes curled around the dewy grass. He knew someone would find him, he knew it as soon as he sat in the middle of the yard, but he didn't care. He _needed _it. Even if he only had five minutes, it was imperative to him that he have those precious five moments to himself. The five-year-old bit into his apple with a relieved smile and threw his head back to stare at the sky. As he confronted the sources of his unhappiness in his own mind, he felt that soon someone would be standing over his shoulder. And he wasn't wrong. Even as he was thinking that, Natasha was at her window. The only window in the house that overlooked the backyard. It took her a few moments to realize who was sitting below in the tall grass, but she wasted no time in heading downstairs. She was just as silent as Loki had been, her slippered feet easily sliding over floorboards, passing over the creaking ones and easily skipping down the steps.

She passed through the kitchen just as stealthily, enjoying the very thrill of sneaking about in the moonlight, deciding that she would do so more often. But the better half of her mind was more focused on Loki. She had been there at dinner when the young man had gotten into an argument with Clint again, and although she preferred the blonde-haired young man to the mischievous Loki, she loved them both as her brothers. It was that love that had her sneaking through the house, and then finally out the sliding glass doors. She stepped onto the grass, and as she did so, a breeze swept through the yard, ruffling her white gown as she strolled over to her brother.

"Loki? What are you doing awake?" She asked quietly, tonelessly, "Are you still upset?"

"I'm not upset over Clint. Those were only words." Loki breathed, letting the stress go.

Natasha took a seat next to him, "Listen, I know it must be hard, what you went through. Don't let what he told you make you think any differently."

"It doesn't make me think different," Loki pouted, looking at Natasha now, "It just hurt when he said it."

"He does that sometimes," Natasha said with a little smile, wrapping an arm around Loki's shoulders, "But don't let that get to you. He's been having a rough time, too, lately. He'll apologize in the morning."

"You aren't going to tell dad, are you?"

"Of course not, little one," Natasha said, her small smile growing, but faltering for a moment, "Is there something else bothering you?"

"I had a nightmare."

"What was it about?"

Loki paused for a moment before taking a deep breath, "I was...I dunno how to explain it, but it was like I was being put together, like a robot. I could hear Thor talking to me, telling me to move my arms or say certain things, and I said and did everything right. But when I asked a question, when I wanted to know what was going on, I heard Clint, and he said to take me a part and throw me away," Loki looked back up at Natasha, whose smile had quickly melted away, "And Thor actually did it, too. He almost killed me."

"Almost?"

"I woke up."

"Listen, Loki, it was only a dream. Clint and Thor wouldn't hurt you, ever," She assured him. Loki seemed to accept her words, but she couldn't be sure, "I think we should take to Phil about this."

Loki's hand immediately grabbed Natasha's forearm and he looked more frightened than Natasha had ever seen him in her stay, "We can't do that!" He hissed quietly, "He'll send me back!"

"Send you back?" Natasha paused again and put both hands on Loki's shoulders, "Listen, little brother, you are not an _object. _You can't just be returned like a toy. Phil would _never _do that, okay? He loves you, okay? _We _love you, too. Me, Thor, and Clint, too. I promise!"

They stared at each other for a moment, and then they hugged because finally Loki understood. This was not his old home. He was a human being here, not a mere object, and everyone around him loved and cared about him enough to understand. The young boy nodded and sniffed.

"Yeah, okay, we can talk to dad...But can I get more sleep, first?"

Natasha nodded, "Of course. If you have another nightmare, you come to my room, okay? We can talk anytime. Even if I'm asleep when you walk in, don't walk out until we've talked."

Loki nodded and they both stood up and led each other to the sliding door, which Loki shut after Natasha had stepped back inside. The five-year-old gave his big sister one last hug before exiting to the staircase to get a few more hours' sleep before the talk. Natasha stayed downstairs and started on breakfast. Phil was an early riser on Mondays, and the sun was already out. She was just cracking eggs when he walked down the stairs, smiling at her.

"No matter what I do, you're always up before me, Tasha." He said and gave her a one-armed hug while reaching for his coffee. When he glanced down at her slippers, the grass stains did not go unnoticed. But before he could remark on them, Natasha turned to face him in all seriousness.

"Papa, we need to talk about Loki."

"What about him?" Phil replied, thoroughly surprised.

"Can I ask...How he was raised?"

Phil nodded and gestured for her to sit down. The kitchen was silent for several beats while Phil prepared her a cup of coffee, as well, before sitting across from her. He took a quick drink before looking her in the eyes again.

"Loki, like several of the other kids I've adopted, was born with certain problems. He has a very low tolerance for being cold, and he gets sick very easily. You probably guessed both of these things, already," Phil paused and made sure that Natasha nodded before continuing, "Well, part of that is due to the way his biological father treated him. He was always neglected, but as a very, very, young child he was _abused_, as well. The day his father kicked him out of the house, at three years old, Loki was half-naked in the winter on his porch step. The poor boy was literally treated worse than the dogs that were kept in the house. I've heard all about it from Thor, who knew Loki's father well, and was told about this first-hand by the abuser himself. The older Loki got, the worse the abuse became. Sometimes he had to eat dog food because his father wouldn't feed him enough. He was treated horribly, and I know some of that's carried over into his personality."

Phil paused and swallowed hard. He and Natasha looked incredibly pained to even think about it.

"Loki eventually caught enough attention that he was taken to a Home, and his father was arrested. That's where we found him. And Thor. But Loki, I think, might have been one of the kids to get the worst abuse around here."

"May I ask who got the worst?"

"I'd say that was, without a doubt, Clint."

Natasha nodded, and the kitchen was silent again. No one wanted to think about the horrible things the boys had gone through, especially when both of them had heard it from Clint and Loki already. Luckily, the conversation was cut off by the opening and shutting of someone's door from upstairs. It must have been Thor, because the footsteps were so loud. Before they knew it, the boy with the long blonde hair was downstairs looking very upset.

"What happened to Loki? He just came into the room, sat on his bed, and broke down crying when I tried to talk to him!"

Phil and Natasha looked at each other and nodded. "Don't worry, Thor, Loki's just had a very bad night. We're going to make sure he's okay. Bring him on down, okay, Tasha?"

While Phil finished his coffee in the kitchen, Natasha and Thor went back upstairs to retrieve the distraught boy. When they opened the door, Loki covered his face and shook his head. Thor climbed up the ladder and tried to comfort his brother, but Loki didn't seem to hear any of it. So Natasha had the young boy hauled down and Loki wouldn't leave the room until he was holding both of their hands. It seemed like he was falling apart at the seams.

* * *

"Clint _does not _want to hurt you, Loki." Phil said adamantly, putting down his second coffee. Everyone in the room looked like they could use coffee, or something stronger. No one more than Loki seemed to be absolutely miserable. He was holding his face in his hands with both of his elbows on the table. Every once in a while, tears would pool from his hands onto the wood of the table.

"I don't believe you," The boy said immediately, "You didn't see the look on his face...He _hates _me."

Phil got up from his seat and crossed the room, "He does not hate you! I'll go get him, now, and show yo-"

"No! Dad, please don't do that, it'll make him mad!"

"Listen to me, Loki," Phil said, swooping down on his son, putting two hands on the boy's shoulders, "No one here hates you. In fact, we all love you. Why would we hate you? Why would Clint hate you?"

"Because of last night..."

"I expect things like what happened last night to happen every once in a while, Loki," Phil said calmly, "Fights _do _break out, as much as I would prefer that they didn't. Yes, maybe it could have been avoided, but it's in the past now. And I'm sure Clint sees it the same way. Now, I'm going to go get him, okay?"

Loki squirmed uncomfortably in his seat but didn't say a word. Thor didn't so much as leave his side, but Natasha stayed in her chair. She thought Clint had been right in what he had said the previous evening. She could remember it clearly, although she could tell Loki had tried to lie about it all. Loki had been the one to break the mirror, not Clint, that much was obvious. The fact remained, however, that it had been their mother's mirror, and that was why the fist fight had been started in the first place. Over who would have taken blame for it, like a wager. Loki had resorted to using teeth and kicks, but Clint always fought fair, even if it was against a five-year-old. Natasha didn't need to see bruises to know who'd won. Clint had always been a fantastic fighter.

"..._Don't _want to talk about this right now. Why do we have to, dad? I already said I was sorry."

"I know, Clint, but Loki's having some trouble. I just want to clear things up."

Loki froze at the sound of Clint's voice, but when Phil's floated into the kitchen, as well, he tried to rise out of his seat. Thor kept a hand on his shoulder to keep him there, but left the other hand in case Loki needed one to hold onto. Clint finally entered the kitchen, a confused expression on his face as he sat across from his brother.

"Loki? What's all this about?"

"I think...You wanna kill me." Loki said in a gust of breath, eying Clint nervously. "Because of what I said to you."

"Why would I want to kill you at all? Loki, I know you were upset," He said, raising a brow, "And it does make me mad as hell that you made fun of my mom and the way she treated me, but I'm not going to take it out on you. Just because _I _was treated that way doesn't mean I'll treat _you _that way."

Loki looked down, his bottom lip shaking, and his eyes tearing up. Clint was being responsible and brave, but Loki knew he was the weakling here. He had done the exact opposite of what Clint had just decided. The child knew he'd resorted to the very tactics his own father would have used. And that thought terrified him worse than his irrational fear of Clint ever could, but this time, he didn't say anything about the terrible feeling boiling in his chest.

Clint stood up to go, and as he passed Loki, he patted his brother twice on the back. He wasn't out of the room before the five-year-old had burst into heavy, stress-induced sobs. Everyone else in the room comforted Loki, telling him things would be okay when really, they had no idea of the problems that lay beneath the surface of the child's mind.

"Hey, little guy, how about we stay home today and get some ice cream, huh?" Phil asked, wrapping an arm around Loki's shoulders and leveling himself with his son, "It'll all be okay, Loki."

At least he had Phil, who could always make the bad things go away.

* * *

**Review Responses:**

_Vana Jedi: _Thanks! I'm glad I've finally come up with a more original concept!

_joshifine:**EDIT: **_Oh, my, I'm blushing! You're really too kind o wo! Oh, no problem! I meant to list the ages, but I don't think I did when I meant to. Loki is four years old, almost five (in a few chapters,) and Thor is six. Natasha is ten and Bruce is eight, Clint is nine, Tony is ten and Steve is thirteen (of course he's the oldest!).

_Magic Iris:_I'm glad you patiently waited for the update and that you enjoyed it~

_ZS: _Coming right up! I'll squeeze it into this chapter, but I'll give you an entire Phil/Tasha chapter soon! ** Feel free to make requests~**

_secretagentspygirl: _Wow, I'm glad to have such an enthusiastic reader! I really appreciate the review and the kind words.

_KP (aka Guest): _Yeah, I intended for this chapter to focus on Tony, who's having a bit of a hard time. Each chapter will have a few characters in sort of focuses on, so thank you for noticing owo. I'd also originally intended for Coulson to be the one to go downstairs and run into the bad guys unarmed, but it didn't work out as well as I'd hoped.


	4. Home Sweet Home

**A Note to the Reader: **I'm sorry this can't be an actual chapter this week, but I tried to make up for it by describing the house in a little better detail for you, as well as each kid's bedroom. Also, I think I'm going to add mini-summaries to each chapter.

**Summary: **A walk-through of the Coulson home. Enjoy your stay~

* * *

As you get out of your car, you look onward at the house you are to be visiting for the day. You're an old friend of the owner, but you've never seen his home before, so he invited you over for dinner. Who would turn down a free meal, anyway? You're a bit nervous as you step forward, getting a better look at the home. It's tall, taller than the two houses on either side of it, and the pearliest white possible. The house itself seems relatively modern, possibly built in the later nineties. It has tall windows everywhere and a handful of those windows seemed to lead onto the second-floor balcony. You step onto their wooden porch and ring the doorbell. You aren't standing in the autumn chill another two seconds before your polite friend answers the door. The two of you give each other the standard arm-hug and after pulling away, you notice the small child entangled in your friend's pantleg.

"And who's this?" You ask, grinning down at the black-haired little boy. He had an arm wrapped around Coulson's knee, and was currently tugging down on the hem of his too-large green t-shirt. You swap out your grin for a friendly smile and offer the boy a handshake, to which he surprisingly accepts.

"That's Loki, the youngest."

"Oh, so he's one of the seven? Can I meet the rest today?"

"You can meet them all, right now, if you'd like. They're all eager to see you, actually." Coulson says with a smile, stepping aside and allowing you to kick off your damp shoes and peel off your jacket. Loki stays between the two of you as you look around the front door. It's a medium-sized room with pictures of kids and the family and the wife littering the walls. There are a few cupboards full of Coulson's collectables, and a few pieces of furniture that seemed to date back a century and a half. The room has a staircase to the second floor, as well as a doorway that leads to the next room, which you promptly follow Coulson through. The next room is the dining room, with one long table against the wall and several windows hanging over it. Plates and silverware are set out, and one chair at the end stands out from the set of the other eight. You assume that the chair is meant for you. Other than the table, there are two doors in the room. You take the one to the far left, which leads you through a small hallway. This branches off twice, as well, the bathroom to the left, and the kitchen to the right. Phil steps aside and kneels down to face Loki.

"Can you give our guest, here, the grand tour while I find the others?"

"But they were supposed to be waiting in the kitchen, dad," Loki replies with some confusion. Phil only holds a smile and nods.

"But they've wandered off. Don't worry, I won't be too long."

"Okay, dad," Loki chirps and turns on his heel to face you, "This is the kitchen! We cook our breakfasts here, which are the best. We have a big 'fridge and over there's the pantry with the bananas and other fruit inside. There's also another staircase upstairs. So, we have _two _staircases. Not all houses have two!"

You listen intently as the boy rambles, nodding and smiling here and there, and he leads you up the stairs after he pokes his head into the pantry and offers you a banana, which you politely accept. You haven't eaten all day, because you've been too busy reading reports and and such on your computer all day. You scarf your banana down and discard the peel before following Loki up the thin stairs. At the top of the staircase is a tall red door.

"This is Natasha's room," Loki says, pulling on the knob, "Don't worry, we've all cleaned our rooms so you could see!"

You step into the girl's room reluctantly, not wanting to invade privacy, but your curiosity is nevertheless present as you look about the place._ She must be older, _you assume to yourself, _because this place is barren. _The room, in fact, has little furniture inside. The walls, however, are alive with decoration. It seems she must paint on them daily, because a piece of paper labeled "wet paint" hangs over a large, golden sun with black sunglasses. There is also origami everywhere, you notice. Tiny hearts, stars, birds and dogs litter the walls and shelves. The door-less closet at the far side of the room depicts a very confident girl, or at least someone with a good taste in summer-dresses, which it is almost too cold for.

"Tasha likes to wear dresses all the time 'cause that's what girls do, I guess," Loki mutters, as if reading your mind, "But she also wears leggings to keep herself warmer!"

You turn to leave the room and find yourself at the turn of the L-shaped hallway. On the left side, there are four doors, and the right claims three. Loki takes you to the one on the immediate left, which he excitedly tells you is his own room, which he shares with one of his big brothers. You step inside and are immediately smiling. There are blankets pinned against the walls, everywhere. The entire room is like a child's fort. There is a thin blanket draped over the ceiling fan, which Loki tells you doesn't work, anyway. The window has colored pieces of square papers taped onto the glass, which leaves colorful sunlight pouring onto the floor. In the corner to the left of the door is a bunk-bed, and Loki also tells you he sleeps on top and Thor sleeps on bottom.

"Lemme show you something!" He cries and ascends his tiny wooden bed-ladder. He then points at the metal rods screwed into the ceiling which have blankets dangling from them like shower curtains. They just reach the end of the sideboard of Loki's bed, so that the child can push the aside without disturbing the inhabitant of the lower bunk. They cover both open sides of the bed, but Loki tells you that he prefers to have a little light, so he has an outlet that has a green nightlight plugged in. While Loki scrambles back down the ladder, you look around the room some more. It's devoid of a closet, you notice, but instead has two sets of identical drawers. One is red and gold, and the other is green and gold. You don't have to guess to know that Loki's is the green and hold one, but he tells you so, anyway.

The next room you find yourself in is less colorful than Loki's, but it is certainly just as interesting. Against the windowed wall was a loft bed, which had golden blankets all strewn about it in the fashion of a bird's nest. In the bed sat the second child, you presume, and Loki didn't seem so cheerful to see him.

"This is Clint," He offers quietly, staying by you, "And this is his _nest_."

You glance from Clint to Loki, both of whom wear blank expressions, although Clint's seems ever so much more solid than Loki's. The two carry on like this for several minutes until you walk over to the loft, stand on your tip-toes, and outstretch your hand for Clint to shake. Surprisingly, he does. You smile and nod at him, but he only nods back and goes back to staring Loki down. You then walk back over to Loki and take one last glance about the room. There are cotton-ball clouds hanging from the ceiling, some gray storm clouds, others fluffy and white. There is a cello on its stand in the corner, but by the film of dust on it, you assume that it goes unused, aside from the tiny hand-prints around the base of it. Aside from Clint's bed, there was a mattress that lay on the floor not far from the cello. Loki muttered something about another boy named Steve, and you decide that that must be where he sleeps. Your tour guide suddenly turns and walks out of the room, and with one last questioning glance at Clint, you follow him. Loki completely reverts to his old self as he closes the door behind him.

"C'mon, there's only a few rooms left!" He says, pulling you along by the sleeve.

The next room, he tells you, belongs to Tony and Bruce. Two _more _boys. You begin feeling sorry for Natasha, as it is finally evident that she is the only one in the house that is of the fairer sex. Loki also tells you, when you ask about her, that she's the newest addition to the family. But you shift gears, anyway, and begin looking around Tony and Bruce's room. It's wallpaper is that of a circuit board, until you step closer and realize that it was all _painted _on. It is a very intricate pattern, and you find yourself deeply impressed. There are real circuit boards and machine parts littering a desk in the corner, with a tool box on the floor next to it.

"Tony's really into machines 'cause he's really smart," Loki says happily, "Bruce is pretty smart, too, I guess, 'cause he helps his brother with the projects."

"And what're you 'into', Loki?" You ask, genuinely curious.

"I like books and music! I can't play yet, but I was getting lessons..." Loki trails off, his voice nearly breaking. You decide not to ask more about that.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend."

"You didn't!" The boy cries, "I just...Well, I mean, I was receiving lessons from my mother, that's all."

"Oh...I'm sorry, Loki."

"It's okay."

* * *

By the time the two of you are back downstairs, you're both incredibly hungry, your stomachs rumbling like Pompeii. Phil has nearly finished the cooking, and you offer your hand in help. After fifteen minutes, the two of you have successfully concocted twelve sub sandwiches. You can hear the kids in the dining room, but before the two of you turn to leave the kitchen with the food, you catch each other's eyes.

"You have some extraordinary sons, Phil."

"Just wait until you meet the rest..." He replies, grinning, as he walks behind you into the dining room. There, at the table, sat seven children, who were all too busy talking to notice you until you set the plate of sandwiches down on the table. They all stared hungrily at them, but they didn't dare move until prompted. As you took your seat at the opposite end of the table as Phil, you look around and try to guess which child was which. That's when you notice Phil praying. You don't recall Phil being a religious man, despite his already outstanding morals and ethic, but you bow your head with the rest of them and think quietly to yourself. When you look back up, everyone is staring at you.

"...What?"

"Oh, nothing. I just like to go over the prayer that Sara always said. Thanks for being patient."

Everyone stuck their arms out at once and attacked the platter of food, and you knew you were too far to be able to reach one. But, luckily for you, the young red-haired girl who must have been Natasha, handed you a sandwich.

"Thank you, Natasha."

"How'd you know it was me?" She asks with a grin. Both of you laugh a little and begin chowing down on your food. Once you all finished, the kids formally introduced themselves and after they'd all left the table to play, you stand to go, as well. You walk across the room and shake Phil's hand again, with a new warmth.

"You have a wonderful family, Phil," You say, beaming at him, "I'm incredibly jealous."

"They are great, aren't they? Good kids, although they _can _be a handful sometimes."

"Yeah, I saw that. Clint and Loki don't seem to like each other."

"You noticed?" He gives you a pause to nod, "Yes, they've had troubles since Clint came into the family. They're both good kids, but Loki has always been scared of Clint. Unfortunately, one of Loki's favorite defense mechanisms is to cause some trouble, which he has done for Clint, already."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, me too," Phil says, running a hand over his forehead, "But I'm going to try taking the two of them to a counselor tomorrow, anyway."

"I hope it helps."

"Me too. It was good seeing you!"

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**Review Responses: **

_Magic Iris: _Aw, thanks!

_All Hail His Noodleness: _asas;asdflas thanks o, wo

_KP: _Wow, you just pick up on everything! That makes me really happy, hehe. Anyway, I'm glad you brought up the length of this little series. As of now, I want to do a _ton _of chapters. After the next chapter, I'll be doing your request, the runaway one, unless I finish it early (no promises). **Thank you so much for the prompt! I'll be using it soon. **I love it!

_ZS: _Oh, yes, expect to see a _lot _more Phil/Tasha. They are going to get along great. Thanks for the compliment, by the way. And **thank you for the prompt, I've chosen it for this week's chapter! **I hope you like Steve here~ I've been meaning to focus on him more and more, anyway.

_DarkMousyRulezAll: _Haha, it's good to see that I've gotten you emotionally rattled.

_Danik:_ Thanks! Expect more~


	5. Let's Get Out of Here Pt1

**A Note to the Reader:** Thank you all for sticking with me to this chapter! I've decided to use the _Runaway _prompt, but in a slightly different way than was probably imagined. This chapter is also split into two parts. You can expect part two as early as Wednesday or Thursday and/or as late as Friday. It depends how long editing takes. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter!

**Summary: **Loki decides to hit the road, but he isn't going it alone.

* * *

Thor was hunched over his paper, scribbling as quickly as his hands would allow. It was not often when he could work so fast, but he seemed to be on a roll that day. He'd finished his math homework in minutes, his science took most of the class and the teacher's help, but he was happy enough to have it done. All that remained was english, one of the subjects farther down on his favorite's list, but still the determination in him had the words flowing onto the paper like a crashing waterfall. Mr. Heimdall, the first grade teacher, noticed how hard Thor had been working all day and awarded him with a dumdum sucker, which Thor chomped away on as he dotted his last 'I' and put his pencil down. Not even a moment later, the dismissal bell rang and Thor threw his hands into the air in his pride. All the kids in his class smiled and laughed with him as they walked out the door. Thor even got a grin from his best friend, Jane Foster.

Thor was the last one out of the room, because he disliked wading through crowds of people. But today, Thor was happy and had his head held high as he left the classroom, instead of feeling drained and excited to leave as he usually did. He walked down the hallways alone, until he reached the kindergarten door and paused, waiting for Loki. When his little brother didn't appear, Thor poked his head inside and surveyed the colorful room. His brother was there, but he was not alone. A girl Thor recognized, although he couldn't recall her surname, as Maria stood in front of Loki. They seemed to be having a serious conversation in the corner of the room. Loki couldn't see Thor, what with having his back to him and all, so Thor decided to continue on to the bus and wait for Loki there. He trusted his brother and respected him enough not to eavesdrop on him or Maria. So Thor left the building and loaded onto his school bus with the rest of the children and began what would be a long wait.

* * *

"Maria, right?" Loki asked, hovering over the girl, trying to read her desk's name tag from upside-down.

"Yes..." She answered, quietly. Her brown hair was in a tight little bun, but some of the bangs had escaped the band. She brushed them out of her face as she looked up at the boy in front of her. "And who are you?"

"My name's Loki."

Any other day and Maria would have smiled and told the boy he had a silly name. But on that particular day, she was in no such mood. It had not been, by any means, a good day for the young girl. Not only had her mother forgotten to make a lunch for her _again_, but she had also forgotten to return the 'I love you,' that Maria had said to her that morning. Needless to say, the poor girl's morning did not improve. Her friends didn't share their lunches with her, or even speak to her much, and she had failed to complete her homework in class as she usually did. Everything else went as it usually did, just like any other day, but it was all very stressful and dull for the child. So when Loki approached her at the end of the day, it was easy to see why she perked up.

"Are you okay, Maria?" There was no answer, for a moment, so Loki added, "I mean, I was just wondering 'cause I thought you looked sad."

"Yeah, I didn't have a good day, at all..."

"Well...Can I help?" He offered, trying to cheer her up.

Maria paused. A plan was already formulating in her mind, and with Loki at the center of it, she knew that she could turn her day around with his help. She sat up straight, thinking fast. All sorts of crazy ideas were bobbing and weaving between her ears, and she beat them all down until she came up with one insanely convoluted plan. She pulled out her phone, which her wealthy mother had supplied for her, and began to text one of her friends. Loki thought this a bit rude, but he didn't say anything. He didn't have time, really, because in the next instant, Maria had put her phone on the desk and was staring Loki straight into the eyes with a very hardened expression.

"You can help, but you have to promise that you'll do what I say, okay?" She asked tonelessly, waiting for a reaction from Loki. For a moment, the young boy was too surprised to say anything. Then he thought back to what his dad had told him – that helping a lady in need was a very gentlemanly thing to do – and he nodded vigorously.

"I want to help!" Was his earnest reply. What could possibly go wrong?

"Good!" Maria smiled and stood up from her chair, "Then I need you to come to my house today!"

* * *

Thor shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the buses before his began to pull away from the curb at the school. Before his own bus could do the same, he stood up and ran down the aisle to his driver. The kids on either side of him stared, but he ignored them completely. The bus driver turned off the radio and turned to Thor with one of his thick eyebrows raised.

"My brother isn't on the bus," Thor blurted out, "I think he's still in the building. I need to go get him."

"Listen, son, I'm supposed to be pulling away from the curb right now," The bus driver paused and looked at Thor, and read the worry in his face. There was a tension in the air as the driver bit his lip and looked away. "I'll give you five minutes. If you're not back, I'll have to leave. I'm on a tight schedule, here."

"Thank you, sir," Thor said hurriedly before jumping down the stairs. "I'll be right back!"

* * *

Maria pulled Loki by the sleeve out of the classroom, and the two of them simply strode to the exit where kids who were driven home by parents left. They pushed open the heavy door together and crossed the asphalt to a silver chevy sitting by the curb. Around the corner of the building, Loki could just barely see the buses. For the first time, doubt blossomed in his chest. What would Thor think when he didn't show up at home until much later? Surely helping Maria wouldn't take too much time, he thought, and got into the car. Maria scooted over for him and they sat in the back together. In the driver's seat sat a woman on her cell phone, talking about 'stocks' and 'shares', nothing that Loki understood or cared about. It didn't take long before Maria jumped in her seat and pulled out her own phone.

"Peter texted me back! He'll be meeting up with us soon."

The woman, presumably Maria's mother, looked into her rear-view mirror and right at Loki. She then turned in her seat and raised her brow and looked from her daughter to Loki and back again.

"Maria, would you mind telling me the name of our guest?" She said with a slightly scolding tone, as if subtly telling her daughter not to do this again.

She hung her head a little and replied, "His name is Loki. I just wanted him to meet Peter."

"Okay, but make arrangements next time, please..." Was all her mother said with a sigh.

Maria rolled her eyes and turned to Loki with a smile. She handed him the phone and put a finger to her lips. Loki raised a brow and looked down at the message she'd typed out, which read with many numbers and misplaced letters, 'I need you to help me run away from home!' Loki only looked up in shock. Maria waved at him, silencing his words before they were out of his mouth and pointed at her mother. She took the phone back and not another word was said until they reached Maria's house. Loki jumped out of the car and considered running, when Maria popped up next to him, pulling him to the front door ahead of her mother.

"Don't worry, you'll go back home. I just don't want to be around her anymore!" She said under her breath before looking back at Loki with pleading eyes, "You'll help me, right?"

He hesitated, looking away from her and at her house. It was large, very large, possibly with three stories or a very big attic. It was victorian-styled with plenty of décor and some tall, skinny windows. The only thing new about it, Loki thought, was the paint. When he looked back at Maria, his clever little friend, she was still puppy-eyed and sad looking, like how he had found her. He sighed and silently nodded twice.

* * *

Thor's day was, needless to say, taking a turn for the worse. Loki was nowhere to be found within the building, and his five minutes were almost over. So the blonde little child ran back to his bus and climbed the stairs and stopped before the bus driver. The man sighed, reading the look on Thor's face, and grabbed his radio. He sent out a description and Loki's name to all the other buses, but no one reported back with him. Thor sat uncomfortably the whole ride home, and once the bus stopped before his own home, he flew down the three steps of the bus and ran into his home to report this development to Phil. Nearly kicking the door down in his anxiety and passing everyone without saying a word in search of his father, Thor's face became redder and redder every moment he went without knowing where Loki or Phil was. When he finally ran into the latter of the two, he relaxed slightly.

"Father! Loki is missing, I lost him at school and now he's nowhere to be found!" Thor's tone was desperate, and he was nearly breathless after running throughout the house to find Phil in his bedroom. There was a shocked silence that blanketed the two of them, freezing them in their places. Phil carefully placed the jewelry he'd been examining back in a small box and ran a shaken hand through his thin hair. Thor shifted his weight back and forth on his feet, giving off the air of a boy who was ready to run at any lengths to find what, or whom in this case, he was looking for.

"I need you to calm down, Thor, and go downstairs. Try to relax, and I'll call the police." Phil said quietly, while quickly reaching into his shirt pocket and pulling out a small flip-phone. Thor obeyed and turned on his heel, ready to leave the room. He stood just outside the doorway, listening for the second time as a description of his little brother was repeated to another person. Breathing slowly became familiar once more to the young man, who was quite shaken, himself. After a moment of recovery, Thor slumped his shoulders and began his shuffling descent down the stairs. Once he got back into the living room, each of the kids asked him what was happening. Steve sat down on the couch next to him and put a hand on his back.

"Is everything all right? Where's Loki?" He asked quietly, yet above all the madness around them.

"Everything is not all right," Thor began sullenly, "Loki is missing."

The room became silent, and Steve shrunk back slightly, a bit guilty for asking.

"I'm sorry, Thor. But we'll find him." He promised, withdrawing his hand.

Thor just kept his face in his hands. Everyone stared at him, but each expression was varied in its own unique way. Not even Clint's usually stony face was expressionless. Aside from Thor, himself, Natasha seemed the most affected by the news. She had only a few hands-on experiences with Loki, but what she had come to know of him was that it was completely out of character for him to simply disappear. She had already opened her mouth when everyone heard the _creak _of last step on the staircase. The one Phil never bothered to side-step. He was in the living room before anyone could say much else, his cell phone in hand, and staring at Thor. He put a hand over the receiver and cleared his throat.

"Thor?" He gave a brief pause for a response, but continued when Thor only looked up at him, "I need Maria's last name so we can find Loki."

Thor looked heartbroken, "I wouldn't know it..." He murmured, scanning his brain, anyway. He had never had a one-on-one conversation with Maria, himself, and heard little of her from Jane, although he knew the two to be friends.

"We could ask Jane!" He perked up immediately, eyes widening with hope. "I know Jane's mother's phone number."

"Officer, I'll have to call you back."

* * *

Loki took the steps two at a time behind Maria, as there were many left to climb, until they finally reached a tall, decorated wooden door. The brunette smiled and swung open the door, allowing Loki in first before she stepped in, herself. The room was immaculately spotless, each item placed in its own particular order that gave the room an air of disuse. The bed seemed to be the only item in the room that didn't have a the sheen of dust. Loki sat on the edge of said bed, feeling quite light headed already, and Maria pulled from her backpack a note.

"I wrote this in school today." She said simply, laying it out on her pillow and dumping the contents of her bag in the laundry basket. She gathered some clothes, some non-perishable food she'd obviously squirreled away for the very occasion, Loki simply watched as she stuffed it all into her emptied backpack and hopped up, himself, when she did. She motioned for him to follow and they descended the spiral stairs again, deliberately, this time. Together, the sneaked through the old-style house until they reached the back door, and they carefully stepped out of the home through that. Luckily, there was no fence in the small backyard for Loki to scale. Only a vegetable garden and several unused child's toys. They ran through the grassy yard to the gravel driveway where several bikes were. Maria paused here, as if to think.

"We can use these to get to the place!" She finished her thought out loud and passed a bike to Loki, who began to feel very uncomfortable about the whole ordeal.

"Maria?" He began, "I don't think we should be doing this."

The girl turned to him, her expression flat, "You're not the one running away, Loki, I am! Please stick with me until we see Peter, okay?"

Loki thought about it for a moment, looked up at the afternoon sun, and sighed. Then he obediently threw his leg over the bike and took his place on it. After they got situated, Maria and Loki soared down the alleyway and onto the main roads. From there, they zoomed past fire hydrants and storefronts until they reached the older part of town. It wasn't until they reached the abandoned buildings that Maria started to slow down only slightly. She seemed to have a set destination in mind, so Loki only hesitantly followed her at every turn and every light. They didn't see a single police car, not even when they stopped in front of one particularly old building.

"This is my uncle's. He won't care if I borrow it for a while." She assured Loki and hopped off her bike. But not even her clever words could ease the blossom of doubt and fear in the boy's stomach.

* * *

"Yes, Jane, thank you." Thor said into the phone, holding it awkwardly, "Yes, her name is Maria. She's in Loki's class."

He paused. Everyone in the room stared at him with the air of those watching a suspenseful show at the theater. Natasha and Steve, especially, seemed very invested in the goings-on of the afternoon. Natasha had spent a morning with Loki, had gotten to know him on a very personal level, she felt, but why was Steve so interested in what was going on, she thought. Of course he should be concerned, Loki was his little brother, but surely there was more to it than that. So, in her deep curiosity, Natasha lay a hand on Steve's arm and asked him to come to the side with her so she could speak to him more privately. As they walked away, they could hear Thor describing Maria.

"Brown hair, kind of little..." He began, rattling off facts that he could easily recall. He could remember so clearly the girl standing before his little brother.

"Steve, are you okay?" Natasha asked her eldest brother, concern and curiosity etched into the very lines of her facial expression. "You seem...Tense."

Steve paused for a moment, as if sizing Natasha up, "You spent that morning talking to the kid, right?"

Natasha nodded, remembering when Loki had had a nightmare about Clint and she had comforted him to the best of her ability. That had also been the night when she had found out some of the extent of the boy's abuse that was received from his father. Steve looked away for a moment, as if mentally preparing himself. As if he were unsure.

"Loki and Thor were the first to be adopted, okay, and I knew them from the foster home," He began as if recounting a long story, "I was actually there way longer than they were, but I always tried to help those two when they needed it. So when Sara, our mom, adopted me, she told me that she had heard all about me from Loki, who'd damn near begged Sara to take me in. I feel like I've owed the little guy ever since, and even if I don't look like it, I really care about those two...It tears me up to see the big guy like this," Steve paused, nodding his head at Thor, who was still visibly shaken by the events, "But I just want Loki to come home safe."

Natasha's expression softened in its intensity, "That's a very sweet story, Steve, thanks for telling me. I was just wondering, y'know, 'cause I never see you guys talking or anything."

"We talk, but it's one of those situations where you don't really know what to say." Was all Steve said with a sad smile. Before Natasha could reply with a suggestion or even a comment, Thor was raising his voice.

"Her name is Maria Hill! She lives on West Street..." He paused and put his ear back to the phone, "367 West Street!"

* * *

Loki lay his bike against the side of the building, just as Maria did. The streets around them were empty of cars, and all the bystanders seemed to be around the corner. Those, Loki knew, were the perfect conditions to get the door of the dilapidated warehouse open without causing any uproar. So he and Maria rolled up their sleeves and began to tug with all their might on the door, and they eventually slid it open. Loki ran inside first, since he was closest, and Maria followed after him. At that moment, her phone rang. She checked, and the number was recognized as Peter Parker's, so she answered.

"Peter! We're at my new house, now, so come visit!" She cried happily into the phone. Loki walked circles around the large, open-space building while Maria spoke to Peter over the phone. He was slightly jealous of her for having one, as it all seemed very convenient. Maria flipped her phone shut, signaling the end of the call, and she turned on her heel to face Loki.

"Okay, you can go home if you-"

But before Maria could so much as finish her sentence, the door of the warehouse began making a horrible creaking noise that made them both cringe visibly. It seemed to fall forwards, slightly, the corner of the sliding metal door coming forwards and meeting the rusted edges of the door frame. It all seemed like a fixable ordeal, until Loki tried fixing it. Tampering with it further caused the door to become stuck, and in his increasing panic, Loki only made it worse by shaking it back and forth.

"Maria! I can't open the door!" He cried, pounding on it. Maria pulled him away from it and tried it, herself. The door would budge an inch, and when she finally stepped back, Loki was on the verge of panicked tears. Both of them tried pounding against the door together, but neither did it move nor did it gather them any attention. After walking around the warehouse several times, they realized in horror that it had been the only working door, and now it, too, had succumbed to years of rust. They could only wait for Peter to arrive and pray he could lift the door.

* * *

**Review Responses!**

_DMRA: _Thank you so much! I thought I would switch things up a bit. Unfortunately, that whole chapter was all very last minute, but I'm glad you enjoyed it, anyway~

_Magic Iris: _Thank you for the lovely compliment~

_ZS: _You can expect your father daughter bonding in part two as well as the next chapter, by the way! Sorry for the wait, though, but I promise it'll be worth it~

_KP: _Ah, I always look forward to your reviews owo. I'm very glad you enjoyed that chapter, because it was a complete pain in my arse to write, although I enjoyed most of it, anyway. Someday, I hope to get motivated enough to draw a basic floorplan of the Coulson residence for you, too. 2nd person is a little difficult, but I've also had a lot of practice. Thank you, again, for these lovely words. I look forward to reading your next thoughts!


	6. Let's Get Out of Here Pt2

**A Note to the Reader: **If you guys have any ideas for chapter-long plots, go ahead and review/message them to me. You could have a very specific idea in mind and I'll _probably _write it. I'm having a rough month so far and ideas are few and far between for me, so send me prompts, please!

* * *

Seconds slowly grew into minutes, and from there to hours. No one had expected Loki to be gone so long, and every minute without him was a minute full of regret for everyone there. But for Thor, especially, minutes felt like hours. He disliked being away from Loki on _normal _circumstances, so naturally, in abnormal circumstances, he was a little less than comfortable. With every ten minutes his anxiety seemed to slowly rise up, as if a balloon was swelling up inside him. First he began tapping his feet, then shaking his legs, then all that and drumming his fingers, until he moved on to pacing and nail-biting. Now, on top of having a child gone under mysterious conditions, the kids also had to ride through the pain of watching poor Thor suffer without his precious little brother.

Phil constantly called the police for updates, but the more often he called, the more often it seemed like asking became begging. Everyone was at their wits' end, especially in seeing Phil have such distress of his own. Normally, he always kept an outer shell that they all felt safe behind, but now the kids were noticing shaky hands and a trembling lip. That was two hours after Loki was reported missing. Four hours after the fact and Phil Coulson was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. Everyone in the room was dead silent. No one spoke, and no one moved, except for Thor, who was shaking in his very seat. No one had seen such a strong young boy quiver like a leaf in the wind before, and it was all very unsettling.

Steve felt responsible in his own way – felt that he should have checked on Loki more. He knew Loki's story better than Thor did, and he cursed himself for not asking Loki about it or offering to talk to him. Trying to block his mind of the present, Steve's thoughts wandered back to the past. When he had first been adopted by Phil and Sara. Looking back, even then, Loki seemed to be suffering from some sort of stifled issue that he didn't dare bring up. Days after being taken in, Steve remembered asking Phil about Loki, and he could still clearly recall the exact story of Loki's adoption. The winter nights the young child had spent half-naked outside, the yard work to be done in barefeet and around several vicious dogs, and not to mention the horrible treatment he received _inside _the house. Loki had certainly gone through a lot, but to Steve, it had always carried a common thread; the cold. Loki's abuse seemed to be centered around the winter season. Why, Steve didn't know exactly, but it was a fact that intrigued and saddened him immensely.

Natasha and Clint sat by each other on the couch, quietly exchanging conversation now and again about Loki, about Maria, and about the possible cause of Loki's running away. It didn't take much of this before Tony heard it and eventually joined in, adding his own speculation to their quiet murmurings. Several theories seemed to circulate back to two themes – Loki's extensive abuse, and surprisingly, Clint. Only Thor, Phil, and Natasha seemed to disagree with the theory about Clint. They had seen the most of Loki the nights of arguments or of nightmares, and all three of them agreed it was a simple childish fear of the stronger, more intimidated, boy. Loki saw Clint as a threat, they said, because he had grown up _expecting _threats.

But Tony adamantly refused to believe it. Even Clint seemed to think he was at fault for the situation, although everyone assured him otherwise. The other side of the room believed that Clint and Loki's frequent arguments had simply gotten to the younger boy and that he had skipped coming home that night, and that he would easily return the next day. Of course, there were other theories mentioned, such as abduction and kidnapping, but due to Thor's choked sobs, no one dared to expand thoroughly on them. As the conversation and the night wore on, Thor seemed to become more and more visibly upset, even when they weren't talking about Loki. At six o'clock, Thor suddenly got up from the couch and went upstairs. No one stopped him, but everyone stared as he left. Even Phil, who had been nearly catatonic all that afternoon, watched him with heavy eyes as he raced away from them.

Once in his room, Thor immediately climbed up the ladder and into Loki's bed without thinking. He curled into the covers, throwing his head down on the fluffed pillow. Everything absolutely _stank _of his brother, and he couldn't tell if that soothed or ached him further. But laying there, simply being around his little brother's belongings, made him feel close to him again. Thor didn't cry, but his breathing did become broken and shakier than before. He felt an odd sense of calm, yet dread at the same time. What if Loki _never _came home? What if he was doomed to crawl into his brother's bed every day until the feeling of security and closeness wore away and he was left with nothing? Thor shuddered at the possibilities, but wouldn't let his mind gather them for long. Instead, he busied his thoughts with the future and how he would greet Loki when he returned. The idea, the very notion of the thing, it all brought a small grin and a blossoming hope into Thor's chest that caused him to heave a steady sigh.

* * *

Back downstairs, Steve, Tony, Clint, and Bruce had wandered into the kitchen to talk guy-stuff. To keep their minds from the painful facts. That left Natasha and Phil in the living room, hoping and hoping in an awkward silence that stung at the open wounds in their hearts. They looked at each other with sorry eyes several times, waiting for the other to say words of comfort, but it took several tens of minutes before either of them could even so much as gather the courage to speak.

"It isn't your fault," Natasha began quietly, reading the look on Phil's face, "It isn't anyone's fault."

"It's kinda hard to believe you," Phil started, "When one of the kids I promised to take care of has disappeared all of the sudden."

"Phil," She countered immediately, "You _can't _think like that. Do you think that sitting there and hurting is going to bring him back?"

"No, but..."

"But, what?"

"But I want _someone _to be responsible for this."

"Listen to me, Phil. We don't even know _why _Loki's gone. Don't you think he would have shown some outward signs if he'd hated you, or anyone else here?"

Phil sat in a short silence and thought about this. Loki was only a child, barely six years old. If there had been any reason for him to run away, he would have shown more outward signs of it. A few problems with Clint did not constitute and action as drastic as spending the night in the street, did it? And if so, how could he be sure? Loki wasn't there to be asked, and even if he was, could they expect the truth out of him? The child was a spectacular liar, even at his young age. He almost always lied about his feelings, Phil knew, and was good at hiding any pain he might sustain from an argument or an action from another. But Loki would, Phil thought, ask for some kind of help before taking such an action.

"You're right."

There was another shorter silence.

"I'm going to call the police, again."

* * *

Loki slid to the floor with his back against the wall. It had been two hours, and still no Peter. Maria had told him some time ago that it was because he lived on the other side of Shield City, but would it really take an hour or two to ride a bike to the warehouse? Had Peter forgotten them? Maria's cell phone battery began to slowly fade away, and they were considering calling their parents. The girl begged Loki to wait until that absolutely _had _to happen, because she simply couldn't bear to see her old life just yet. This was her one chance, she said, and Loki didn't argue or whine with her. He understood her desire to escape her home life, and didn't want to get in the way of her dreams of independence. But he knew his family would be looking frantically for him, and suddenly this was a decision he was beginning to regret. He wouldn't tell Maria that, of course, because he was polite enough to know better. He wouldn't simply undermine her hopes and dreams just because he didn't agree with the ends nor the means.

From his seat on the floor, Loki had a wonderful vantage point of the entire warehouse, although from his viewpoint he could see no safe secondary exits. Maria was still by the only door, trying to pound and wrench it out of the bind it was in. Loki only watched as she finally gave up and turned to him

"Peter will be here soon." She said, although she sounded as though she were reassuring herself.

"I know he will," Loki murmured, "Cause I believe you."

At that moment, before anything more on the subject could be said, there was a squealing of tires from the outside, barely audible to the children inside the warehouse. Maria and Loki just looked at each other, their faces lit up, but their voices silent. There was the sound of feet scraping against the pavement, and of someone parking their bike against the building.

"Maria? Are you in there?" Said a voice

"Peter! Peter, I'm right in here," She called through the door, "But we can open the door!"

There was a short silence. "Okay, I'll handle it. Just take a step back..."

Maria joined Loki by the wall and took a seat, her knees shaking in anticipation. If Peter could safely open and fix the door, she could live in the warehouse for weeks, maybe even months, before her mother went looking for her! She listened as Peter shifted the door around in its frame, first, instead of just charging at the thing like they'd been doing. He pushed, pulled, and tugged on it for quite a long while, but the door only moved enough so that a line of light poured into the warehouse. Peter took a step back.

"I'm going to go ask for help," He said, clearly already walking away, "Be right back!"

"Peter! Wait!" Maria called, but the boy clearly did not hear her. The girl shrunk back from the door, clearly recuperating from this terrible development. If Peter attracted too much attention to them, then their parents could be contacted, and that was not want Maria wanted, at all. She could only hope that he found a hardy biker over a policeman. She began tugging on a strand of hair that had fallen from her trademark bun and twisted the end of it around her finger while she stood in deep thought. If the door could be opened without too much trouble, she could send Loki on his way and have Peter help her find a place to stay for the night. At the thought of her new friend, she turned on her heel to look at him. He seemed to be stressing over their current situation, so she crossed the floor and sat down in front of him.

"I'm so sorry I got you in this mess, Loki," She said honestly, apologizing like she'd been taught to, "But I'm glad you're here with me!"

Loki looked up at her, and gave the statement some thought. Yes, it was a good thing he'd gone along. If he hadn't, Maria would be stuck in a warehouse all by herself. As much as he worried about the consequences of the day, he didn't want to leave the poor girl alone to fend for herself. He smiled sincerely at the thought of truly helping someone.

"It's no problem." He said, but before anyone could say anything more, the scuffling of running feet could just barely be heard through the walls. Someone had finally come to their rescue.

* * *

**PS: **Sorry to cut it into three parts, guys, but I wanted to give you something today! Expect the rest tomorrow or Friday~ And thank you all for so many lovely reviews!

**Review Responses!**

_KP: _No problem! These stories aren't necessarily in chronological order, so I'm pretty much open for an idea at anytime. I figured you meant one of the kids running away by themselves because of an emotional upset, and I considered it, but I think we'll be dealing with this theme again much later, so don't expect this to be the last runaway story ;)!

As far as the Thor/Steve+Loki, I think that the reason Steve and Thor might be canon-ly friends is because Thor reminds Steve of Bucky, whom he must sorely miss. Loki, I think, would like Steve! That's why I've made them a trio in this story, because Steve was the third kid to be adopted, and they all looked out for each other after a while. I'm really giving away too much plot, haha!

I never intended for Natasha to be so motherly, but I think the idea has begun to grow on me. I think I might even address it in-character sometime!

I really do need to expand more on Clint, as well as Bruce, and I'm kicking the idea of giving them their very own chapters, soon. As far as Clint and Loki's little rows go, expect some reveal about that soon, too!

Ahh, thank you so much! I wrote the floorplan in the middle of a horrible block, but it makes me happy to hear that _somebody _enjoyed it!

_Novelist N Training: _I'm so glad you liked the chapter~. I always imagined Phil as the glue that held them together, even after his 'death'.

_Joshifine: _Hey, don't worry about it! It's enough for me when you review at all~. I try to keep it all together, as far as exploring characters goes, because I don't want to wander off into character-centered oneshots on accident. Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment, because it lets me know that I'm doing a decent job, so far! I'm also willing to admit that Loki and Thor are my favorite kids and writing this was kinda hard for me!

_Horribella: _I'm so glad you're satisfied with the story thus far owo. I try to make the stories entertaining , while balancing that with character depth. I don't blame you for choosing favorites – because I have my own – but don't rule the other two out just yet, they might just do something extraordinary soon~. I want to do some sciencebros _so bad! _I'm so excited for it! Thank you for the lovely suggestion! Thanks for reviewing!

_FutureOscarWinner94: _D'aw, shucks! Thanks! And good luck with your oscar!

_ZS: _I saved all the Nat/Phil for this chapter, just for you~ I'm glad you enjoyed the backstory, because I've put a lot of thought into it owo. And don't worry, I'm just getting started!

_Magic Iris: _Aww you're making me blush! Thank you so much for the thoughtful message.


	7. Let's Get Out of Here Pt3

**A Note to the Reader: **I have taken into consideration all the suggested themes/prompts/ideas! I've got a list of chapters, in a random order, to look forward to in the near future! We've got Bruce finally losing it, Trick-or-Treating with the entire family, a little more depth into the Bruce/Natasha bond, Tony gets into some trouble, and all the kids catch a nasty flu. I've got a few more ideas to flesh out, but I hope these sound interesting enough! Feel free to continue sending me stories and I'll add them to my to-do list!

Also, I'm _so _sorry this is a few days late!

* * *

Steve dragged his heavy legs up the stairs, counting each of them as he went if only to occupy his aching mind and heart. The whole business with Loki disappearing was bad enough, but to see Thor act so _destroyed _was another thing entirely. Ever since he'd come home from school without his precious brother, Thor's unsettling fear had steadily grown over the hours he went without seeing or hearing of Loki. Tony and Clint's theorizing about where he had gone off to hadn't been of much help for the poor boy, either, but Steve knew better than to chastise the boys for it. That was their own way of coping – trying to make sense of the situation. But Thor was much too emotional for all of that. He'd run up to his room three hours into the wait and was no doubt already grieving. The thought of it made Steve's stomach tie into knots. He knew he had to help somehow – even if he couldn't go out and look for Loki himself as he so desperately wanted – there were things he could do around the home to help. Thor, for example, might need an understanding shoulder to cry on.

So within seconds, Steve was at the landing and after shuffling down the hall a little, he found himself face-to-face with the bedroom door behind which was the room that Thor and Loki shared. Even from where he stood, Steve could hear the sounds of Thor frustratedly throwing things about and possibly even some sobbing. It was all the oldest child could do to raise his hand and knock on the door. When Thor answered not even a half-second later, Steve simply pulled his little brother in for a hug. Thor seemed to appreciate it, his breathing becoming less laboured and his sobs becoming sniffles. Once Steve thought it a good time, he pulled himself out of the hug and the two of them entered the bedroom together. It was all silent for a moment, because they were too heartbroken to speak. Without even thinking about it, Steve climbed the ladder into Loki's bed and Thor joined him. From their view, they could see the entire room. Steve handed Thor his little brother's pillow so that he could sit on that end. Thor took it with a muttered word of thanks and balanced the pillow on his knees.

"He'll come home, Thor." Steve said, suddenly. Thor regarded him with a hopeful glance, but he took his time to reply.

"I'm not as worried about that," He began quietly, "as I am about what is happening to him right now."

"Thor, you _saw _him right before he..." Steve couldn't say 'disappeared', but he swallowed the word knowing Thor would understand, "I'm sure he and Maria just...Just decided to walk home together."

"He would have come back by now."

"Then I don't know what they're doing -"

"We don't even know that Loki is _with _Maria."

"Thor, I know this must be killing you," Steve said, changing the subject, "And I'm so sorry."

"Why should you be sorry? _You _didn't kidnap Loki."

"No, but I just can't help but feel, you know, responsible..."

"Steve, if I thought you were responsible for this then I wouldn't be talking to you." Thor paused and sighed, "You're about as responsible for this as I am, which is hardly at all."

Steve sat in thoughtful silence. At least Thor knew he was 'hardly at all' to blame for the disappearance, but the older boy knew he'd feel at fault until Loki came home. That both of them would hate themselves for not doing everything in their power to prevent the day's events from occurring. Steve had to wonder if anyone else felt this way – surely, Phil did, but what about Natasha and the others? Although he found it hard to believe that Tony could really hate himself, it was highly plausible that Bruce and Natasha at least felt horrible about all of it. Then there was Clint. The boy probably felt horrible in his own way, but there was a small part of Steve that thought maybe, _just maybe, _Clint also felt a little bit relieved at Loki's disappearance.

* * *

Loki and Maria just looked at each other. No one spoke, no one moved, no one breathed. Peter had come back with muscle, they hoped, and as they sat in their silence, they could hear muffled words through the walls and broken windows. Loki was unable to tell exactly whom had come to their rescue, however, because the streetlight from the curb flickered on and made an obnoxiously loud buzzing noise. He thought he heard the scratch of static, like from his walkie-talkie, but that didn't quite make sense to him. Before the light had turned on, he could have sworn he'd heard the jingling of keys, as well.

"They're in here!" He could hear Peter call. There was another short pause, and both Maria and Loki jumped at the loud _bang! _that echoed into the warehouse. The girl pulled Loki into standing by his arm and clung to him while the door bent and creaked beneath the pressure of someone's boot. There was a short pause, and some muttering behind the door, so Maria began to let go oh her hold on Loki. Then, without any warning, another kick spurred the door wide open and Loki grabbed at Maria's small hand in surprise. The two of them shrunk back at the sun, which was behind the two figures at the door. Loki recognized the shorter of the two – a boy named Peter Parker, a year older than himself. The other wore a glinting badge, and before the thought could register in Loki's mind, Maria had let out a quiet gasp.

"Peter, you got the _police_?" She asked in shock.

"I had to, Maria! You guys were stuck and there's no one else around!" Peter's eyes trailed down to their joined hands. Once Maria realized what he was looking at, she squeezed Loki's hand as if to show off. Before anyone could say anything else, the young police officer entered the warehouse and squatted in front of Maria.

"You wouldn't happen to be Maria _Hill_, would you?"

Maria hesitated, but nodded once. The officer turned his gaze to Loki, who shrunk back a little.

"And you must be Loki Laufeyson, then?"

"It's Loki _Coulson,_" He said immediately. "I think."

The officer only smiled and pushed the button on the radio that was strapped onto his shoulder.

"Maria Hill and Loki _Coulson _have been found, over."

There was a silence while everyone looked at each other, while Peter shuffled his feet in the dusty coating on the ground, while Loki disentangled his hand from Maria's and stared up at the officer. He needed a moment to gather his courage – Loki had always been afraid of the police, ever since he was a young child, but now he saw how helpful they could be.

"I want to go home." He said quietly, almost too softly to be heard.

"I'll give you two a ride," He turned to Peter, "But what about you?"

"I'm going to take these bikes back to my house to work on, anyway," Peter said with a look at Maria, who nodded. Apparently, they'd had the entire evening planned out before the police were involved. The policeman nodded and got to his feet, and Peter walked into the warehouse and wrapped his arms around Maria.

"I'm glad you're okay, Ria."

"Yeah," She replied quietly, "Thanks for helping, Petey."

And with a glance at Loki and a quick smile, Peter left, pulling the one of the three bikes across the street with him. Loki questioned out loud about the bikes being stolen, but Maria told him he lived in the apartments only a block away, so everyone let it go. After another brief silence, Maria pulled Loki behind her to the squad car and the two of them took a seat in the back. The officer finished talking on his radio and joined them, but he sat up front behind the wheel.

"We'll be dropping you off, first, Miss Hill." He said kindly, before putting the keys in the ignition and starting the car. Loki looked at his new friend with sadness on his face.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out for you, Maria."

"It's okay, Loki, but thanks for helping me."

* * *

When they arrived at the Victorian house, Mrs. Hill was standing out front and raced to the car as it pulled up to the curb. She opened the door herself and flung her arms around a very surprised Maria, who hopped out of the car to hug her mother back. They stayed like that for some time, with the officer and Loki looking on in a state of surprise. During the whole ordeal, Loki had imagined that Maria's mother was like his own father – a person that left their kids alone in bad times, but it seemed that she was more like Phil than his biological father. Loki smiled and closed the car door. Seeing the mother and daughter reunited made him want to see Phil and Thor even more.

Thinking of Thor made a pang of guilt ring through Loki like a bell. He couldn't imagine the stress he'd just put his big brother through.

* * *

Thor and Steve were in the middle of another moment of silence when they heard footsteps on the stairs. But there was something different about the sound...They weren't the deliberately slow treading of one who was grieving, no, this was the gallop of a man who'd found his son. Phil Coulson took the stairs two at a time until he reached the foot of Thor's bedroom door, and didn't even knock when he flung it open. He was caught for breath, but when the air in his lungs had the time to settle there, he forced it all back out in one jumbled sentence.

"Loki's on his way."

Thor didn't even bother with the ladder. He simply slid over the short railing of the bunk and landed on the floor, not unlike a cat. He shouldered past Phil and ran down the stairs in a similar fashion. Steve slid down the ladder and when he reached the floor, he wrapped Phil into a tight hug. There was no greater relief to him than Loki being found

"Where was he?"

"In an abandoned factory downtown."

"_Why_?"

"I suppose we'll find out soon." Phil responded, smiling and stepping aside to allow Steve to join Thor downstairs. Phil took his time getting down, himself, because it was at least a five to ten minute drive from the heart of Shield City to his humble house. When he took the last step and stood in the doorway to his living room, he could see all the kids in a circle, talking excitedly about Loki's return. Thor was the most animated of them all, a huge grin plastered on his face. Even Clint was not expressionless. Phil was a little relieved to see some excitement in the child, especially given the circumstances. At least he knew now that the kids didn't hate each other.

* * *

Loki listened to the policeman's radio apprehensively, listening as another cop talked about a fight happening at Roy's, whatever that meant. He considered asking the man in the driver's seat whether Roy's was an establishment or someone's house, but he was much to terrified of the uniformed driver to open his mouth. Instead, he kept his eyes out the window and felt his heart leap into his throat when the houses became more and more familiar. Once they started driving by his friend's houses, he began pointing them out.

"...And that's where Sif lives, and then Darcy, and um, Volstagg, I _think_, lives there!"

This went on for several minutes, with the policeman looking out Loki's window every other moment when he pointed to a house. He listened to all the strange names, and even to a few of the child's stories about the people that lived in those houses. Some of them, he explained, were his brothers' or sister's friends, but the cop listened, all the same. When they finally pulled up to the Coulson residence and stopped in front, Loki was quiet for a moment before the policeman turned to him with a smile.

"And this is your house, right?"

Loki only nodded and waited impatiently for permission to open the car door, and when he finally received it, he slammed his shoulder against it and stumbled from the vehicle. There was a creak at the front door, which he assumed was the storm-door opening, and Thor came bounding out into the autumn winds. Neither of the brothers stopped running until Thor pounced on his younger sibling, literally tackling him into the nearby leaf pile and wrapping his arms tight around him.

"You're back!" Was the first thing he said. Loki huffed and pulled a leaf from his hair as he sat up.

"Of course I'm back, Thor!"

The two talked for some time until the policeman stepped out from his car and met Phil, who had just stepped outside, himself, and met him in the sidewalk to talk about Loki's disappearance. Then, one by one, the other kids came flying out the door. First came Steve, then Natasha holding Bruce, Tony behind her, and finally Clint. All of them gathered around Thor and Loki, chattering excitedly, wanting to know where the youngest boy had been. It wasn't until the cop was driving away and Phil joined the kids that they all went inside. Natasha made Loki a cup of hot chocolate, since he was cold to the touch, and sat him on the most comfortable chair in the living room while everyone else took the secondary seats. Thor squeezed into the loveseat next to his brother, who huffed at the idea of sharing the seat, but let Thor in, anyway.

"So what happened, Loki?"

"Well," The boy started, taking his mug from Natasha with a word of thanks, "A girl in my class, Maria, looked sad to I talked to her, 'cause that's the right thing to do, and she said she wanted to run away so I _had _to do something..."

And Loki was chastised, shortly, for doing the right thing the wrong way, after he finished his story. After the steaming beverage was down his throat and they'd all sat down and eaten supper, the children went about their evening routines as normal. Baths were taken and the television was on the cartoons, and later, the news. The family received several phone calls that night about putting Loki's story on television, to which the young boy agreed, although he refused to do any interviews. After everyone had bathed and done what they needed, the kids filed up to their rooms, with Thor and Loki in the back, talking excitedly about their favorite cartoon. Once the boys reached their room, it wasn't even a question that they'd be sharing the top bunk that night to celebrate Loki's return home. Of course, Thor fell asleep first and hogged the entire bed, squishing Loki against the wall, which he huffed about. But his mind was elsewhere, wondering if things would be better for Maria. He finally fell asleep knowing that, judged on her mother's reaction, there was a certain hope for her home life.

* * *

_ZS: _Hey, thanks for reviewing! I love your suggestion, by the way. Have you ever considered writing, yourself? I'd love to read it!

_Joshifine: _Aw, thank you! I'm glad you enjoy my little attempts at suspense.

_Magic Iris: _Thanks! I've had the username for a looong time. It's like my personal trademark, haha.

_DMRA: _Heyy, don't worry about it! It's not like you _have _to review every single chapter, although I certainly appreciate when you can. It also doesn't make you any less of a writer, I think.

I'm glad I can poke sticks into your emotion, because that's something I've been meaning to work on for some time. So thank you for the feedback!

Thank you for all these lovely ideas...You can expect to see some of them, soon!

Thanks again for reviewing!

_KP: _Aaah, yes! That's exactly what I wanted to convey! You always seem to pick up on my undertones. And I think Natasha would be the most badass mom that ever lived, the fic aside.

Ah, so many ideas, so little time! I'm excited to write for Clint, because I've been meaning to address he and Loki's rivalry for some time. I was actually going to do it in this chapter, but it didn't quite fit. That's probably what the next one will be about, by the way. It's also likely that it'll be split into parts, as well.


	8. A Note from the Author

**A Note from the Author**

Hello, everyone! I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, but trust me, there was good reason. I've decided to tell you all the _whole _story since I'm essentially anonymous/unknown by any of you. I also apologize for the fact that this little note is going to seem like a new chapter. Don't worry – there'll be more on the way. I fully intend to do the Halloween/autumn requests, even though they're very late.

The truth is this: I was in the hospital for the past week or so – I haven't really counted up the number of days I was there. Nothing has happened to me, and I'm quite healthy, physically. Mentally, on the other hand, I've got a few issues to sort out. A week or so ago I attempted suicide in the middle of class.

Please don't feel obligated to review about this. I appreciate that fact that you may even be reading – it truly means a lot to me. Any notes you might send me are appreciated, of course, I just don't want to come off false by asking for your condolences.

I am on new medications and am under some parental surveillance, but other than that, I am doing much better. Now onto the chapters and such from here on out. I've got some plans for you all and I hope you'll continue reading despite that unannounced absence. Up next is a trick-or-treat chapter, for which I am still sore about being late, and afterward a simple collection of autumnal events. Both chapters will have excerpts for each character – including a few unexpected ones!

I thank you for reading this far – truly, it means a lot to me. I hope you've had a nice Halloween and are keeping warm this autumn.

-Olivia.

**Review Responses!**

_Rivan Warrioress: _Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you enjoy what I've got lined up for the future. And I'll consider that Barney prompt, thank you. Any idea is appreciated~

_DMRA: _Aw yus, cookies! I'm very happy that you're enjoying the story – it's people like you that keep it going!

_KP: _Thank you again for your lovely review, and thanks again for the many compliments in said review. The Halloween chapter should make you happy, if you've been waiting for more appearances from Clint. He's going to be having quite a lot of fun this holiday. *Evil laughter*

_ZS: _Ah, your true identity is finally revealed! I'll look you up~


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